The rain drummed lightly on the metal awning as Leah stood outside Maya's cramped but organized apartment in Brooklyn as early as 4am. She shifted the folder in her hand and knocked twice.
Inside, muffled footsteps approached. The door creaked open to reveal Maya in a baggy NYPD sweatshirt, blinking sleep from her eyes.
"Leah?" she asked, surprised. "It's 4 a.m. on my day off. This better be a lead or a miracle."
Leah held up the folder. "Might be both."
Maya raised an eyebrow and stepped aside. "Come in."
Inside, the place was exactly what Leah expected, a crime scene board above the fireplace, three computers on a narrow table, half-eaten Thai takeout on the counter, and investigation case files stacked like an unstable game of Jenga.
Leah dropped the folder on the coffee table. "Got this yesterday. A walk-in at the station said it turned up in her deceased brother's office. He used to work in legal at Walker Enterprises."
Maya took a sip of her coffee, then opened the file. Her brow furrowed.
Inside were copies of transaction records most of them routine, except for one notarized document.
Maya scanned it once. Then twice. Then sat up straighter.
"Wait… this signature…."
"Andrew Walker," Leah confirmed. "Five years ago. That's the same week my father was arrested."
Maya stood abruptly and walked toward her board, pinning the document next to a blurry surveillance still. "You said this was found with the deceased man's belongings?"
Leah nodded.
"I've been digging into Carlito Reyes for months. Low-level sightings, whispers about arms shipments, trafficking fronts. No solid link until now. But look at this…." Maya pulled a USB drive from her board and plugged it into her laptop. "I found entry logs from the Walker building archives before they wiped their old digital systems. Look at who accessed the secure financial floor the day your dad's badge was 'used.'"
She turned the laptop so Leah could see.
There it was.
Carlito Reyes - Temporary Visitor Access. Approved by: A. Walker.
Leah's heart thumped.
"You're telling me Carlito was inside the building when my father's credentials were 'used' to hack the servers?"
Maya nodded grimly. "It fits. Carlito gets in, plants the malware or transfers the funds, Andrew covers it with your dad's ID..boom. They've got a perfect scapegoat. Ex-military, perfect record. Who'd question it?"
"But why my dad?" Leah whispered.
"Because he wouldn't fight dirty to prove his innocence," Maya said. "He trusted the system."
Leah swallowed hard.
"You realize what this means, right?" Maya said, voice low. "If Andrew signed that entry, he didn't just know. He was part of it."
The door creaked slightly as Leah stepped into the dimly lit conference room.
Jason didn't look up.
He was hunched over a pile of documents, blue light from the screen flickering across his face. His fingers clenched into fists on the table, knuckles white.
"Thought I'd find you here," Leah said softly, letting the door close behind her.
Jason didn't respond immediately. When he finally looked up, his eyes were tired. Not from lack of sleep but from something deeper.
"They always said Andrew could talk anyone into anything," he said, voice rough. "Boardrooms, fundraisers, press. He was the face of the company for a reason."
Leah took a few steps in. "And now he's the face on a document that might've destroyed my father's life."
Jason nodded, swallowing hard. "It's his signature, Leah. Not forged. Not planted. Not some intern with access. It's him. His name. His approval. On a payout traced to Carlito Reyes."
Leah stood across from him now. Her eyes lingered on the screen, but her focus stayed on Jason. "It doesn't mean you're him."
Jason let out a bitter laugh. "Doesn't it? Because if he knew about it, maybe I should've known too. Maybe I should've asked questions instead of playing the good little brother."
"Jason," Leah said, firm this time, "you can't carry guilt for someone else's secrets."
"I carry the Walker name," he snapped.
There was a moment of silence between them.
Then he whispered, "You think I want this? That I want my last name to be the thing that crushed yours?"
Leah didn't speak at first. Then she pulled out a chair and sat down.
"I didn't want any of this either," she said. "My dad was arrested while I was at a school dance. I came home to police tape and a crying mother. Do you know what it's like to watch your family shatter overnight?"
Jason lowered his head.
"I spent the next five years chasing shadows," she continued, voice quieter now. "And every time I got close, someone pulled the rug out. Records vanished. Witnesses recanted. I thought I'd never get answers."
She looked at him again. "Until you."
Jason met her gaze.
"You've risked your position, your comfort… even your family name," she said. "And not once have you turned away. I'm not blind to that, Jason. I see it."
He shook his head. "I just don't know who I am anymore. If Andrew's a fraud… then what am I?"
Leah leaned forward, her voice steady. "You're the guy who carried food to the shelter when no one was watching. The one who gave up his comfort to get his hands dirty."
Jason stared at her.
"You're not Andrew. And I don't want you to be," Leah said softly. "I want you to be the guy who stands beside me not in front of me, not above me. Just… beside me."
He let out a shaky breath. "You really mean that?"
She gave a small nod. "I do."
He hesitated, then asked, "So what now?"
Leah sat back, crossed her arms. "Now we go deeper. We investigate Andrew. We follow the money. We uncover everything no matter where it leads."
Jason nodded slowly. "Even if it leads to my father."
Leah didn't flinch. "Especially if it leads to him."
A long pause.
Jason looked down at the paper in front of him, then back at her. "You're not going to let me walk away from this, are you?"
"Nope."
He cracked a weak smile. "Partners?"
She extended a hand across the table. "Partners."
Jason took it.
The handshake wasn't dramatic or ceremonial. It was just… solid. Honest. A new beginning forged in silence.
"Okay," Jason finally said. "Then tomorrow, I'll talk to my mother."
Leah blinked. "Your stepmother? Why?"
Jason leaned in. "Because if anyone knows the skeletons Andrew buried, it's the woman who helped him hide them."
The next morning, Jason stood outside the sunroom, his hands buried in his pockets.
His stepmother, Clarissa Walker, poured herself a glass of mimosa and raised an eyebrow as she noticed him in the doorway.
"Jason," she said with a sugar-sweet smile. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
He stepped in slowly. "Maybe I have."
She tilted her head. "Let me guess this is about Andrew."
He blinked. "You knew?"
Clarissa took a slow sip and gave a knowing smile. "Jason, darling… in this family, everything has a price. Even silence."
Jason swallowed hard. "Did Dad know?"
Clarissa laughed lightly. "That depends. Are you ready to bring down the entire empire?"
He stared at her, stunned.
She walked over, brushing imaginary dust from his shoulder. "Be careful what truth you chase, sweetheart. Some legacies are heavier than they look."
Back at the precinct, Jason relayed every word to Leah. She sat quietly, taking it all in.
"She knew," Jason said. "She's not innocent either."
Leah exhaled. "Then it's bigger than we thought."
Jason nodded. "Are you still in?"
Leah looked at him steadily, seriously.
"I was never out."
Two nights later, Jason insisted on joining the task force for a sting in Queens, word was Reyes' men were using an old garage to move parts of the weapon shipment.
Leah wasn't thrilled.
"I told you, you're not field-ready," she argued as they suited up in the surveillance van.
Jason adjusted the bulletproof vest. "And I told you I can handle myself."
"Last time you nearly got shot covering me."
"Exactly."
Leah turned to him, angry and flustered. "Why are you doing this?"
Jason paused, his eyes softer. "Because I want to see this through. Because if my father is involved, I need to be the one who exposes him. Not you. Not Maya. Me."
She looked at him really looked at him and for the first time, saw a man trying to shed the shadows of privilege. Not for glory. But for truth.
"…Fine," she muttered. "But stay behind me."
Jason grinned. "Always."
Gunshots tore through the rusted metal as Leah and Jason ducked behind stacked crates.
Detective Torres's voice crackled in Leah's earpiece: "One suspect down. Two still inside. Keep your head low."
Leah cursed under her breath. "Jason, stay here…."
But before she could finish, a man burst out of the shadows, gun raised.
Shots fired, Jason shoved her aside and took the bullet. He was hit on the arm. Leah lifted her weapon and fired one clean shot to the leg and another one to the hand as the man's gun fell off.
The man dropped and was tackled by the onrushing Torres.
Jason coughed and sat up, a gash above his eyebrow. "Okay. Maybe some of this field stuff is harder than it looks."
Leah rushed to his side, heart pounding. "Idiot. That was not staying behind me."
"You're welcome," he muttered, dazed.
She looked at him bloodied, bruised, but alive, she tore a piece of her cloth to stop bleeding.
"I swear, if you die before I get justice for my father, I'll kill you myself."
"Call 911, Officer injured, Hurry!!" she said screaming into her earpiece
Jason grinned through the pain. "You're kind of scary when you're protective."
"I'm always scary," she said. "Now shut up and let me stop the bleeding."